This summer’s biggest blockbusters are big in every way – with three hours and more running for some of the most anticipated films of the year.
The epic Killers of the Flower Moon teams up with three legends: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert de Niro and Martin Scorsese. It’s so long that the party after the premiere in Cannes last Saturday was actually held on Sunday because it was simply too late to catch up after the screening. The film weighs three hours and 26 minutes.
Meanwhile, both Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 and Oppenheimer – both highly anticipated – hover around three hours. Like the artsy epic Beau, Afraid is by Joaquin Phoenix.
Even popcorn crowd pleasers are in on the act.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is two hours and 33 minutes long, and the upcoming superhero movie The Flash is also two hours and 26 minutes long – although it’s apparently still in the works, so that could change.
Producers say the rise of streaming, which has become dominant during the pandemic, means audiences will likely be happier watching more of a movie.
Indiana Jones producer Kathleen Kennedy said, “I will say the early movies were shorter. They were under two hours and 15 minutes. And we talked about that quite a bit… But as you know, runtime is all about how you feel, right? So if you’re in a movie and it feels long…
“The reason this is interesting is because long storytelling is something we enjoy in the streaming space. So I think maybe it’s kind of a carryover from that. But God knows, this year there were so many movies over three hours that I felt like I wasn’t getting any work done trying to see them!’
A good example is British director Steve McQueen’s docufilm Occupied City, which actually lasts four hours and 26 minutes. Which movies have a lot on the clock – and are they worth it?
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – 3 hours 26 minutes
Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio star in Killers of the Flower Moon, a movie directed by Martin Scorsese. It comes out on October 20, 2023
Probably the most anticipated film of the Cannes Film Festival, Killers of the Flower Moon tells the story of an uncle and cousin – played by Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio – who plot to get their hands on the oil wealth of the Osage people .
Apple TV+ will stream the movie after a theatrical release and put down most of the money. It is said to put them in contention for a Best Picture Oscar – as CODA did in 2022.
The movie was in development for years, and Scorsese went back to the drawing board after star DiCaprio said he didn’t want to take on the role of the cop who solved the murders, but would rather take on the role of the evil husband.
UK RELEASED DATE: October 20
OPPENHEIMER – 3 hours
The film follows the story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb
Epic, ambitious telling of the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist and father of the atomic bomb. Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy plays Oppenheimer, also starring Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon.
Matt Damon said, “It’s three o’clock. It’s fantastic. Cillian is phenomenal. He is everything you would want him to be. It’s going so fast, it’s amazing.’ The film is written and directed by Christopher Nolan, behind Tenet, xx and Batman xx.
This is said to be Nolan’s magnum opus. He reportedly asked for—and received—a $100 million production budget and an equal marketing budget, a theatrical run of at least 100 days, 20 percent of the film’s gross, and a three-week period before and after the film’s release in which Universal couldn’t release another movie.
Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and Emily Blunt took pay cuts to work on the film, earning $4 million instead of the $10 million plus they could normally command.
UK RELEASE: JULY 21
BEAU IS BANG – 2 hours 59 minutes
From Hereditary and Midsommar director Ari Aster, this film follows an anxiety-ridden man who faces his deepest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafkaesque odyssey.
This surreal comedy horror starring Joaquin Phoenix has divided critics, though some believe its neurotic odyssey will earn Phoenix a second Oscar.
The final surreal stage of the film involves animation.
UK RELEASE: MAY 19
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING PART 1 – 2 hours 45 minutes
Part one is scheduled for July. It will see Ethan Hunt and his IMF team track down a dangerous weapon, before it falls into the wrong hands
The first cut of this movie, which features awesome action sequences that thrill the hearts of Tom Cruise fans around the world, came in at 3 hours and 5 minutes.
Bob Bakish, the president of Paramount, said, “It’s still too long, they need to cut it.” But the movie is insane. It’s like a complete thrill ride. And Tom, he’s very good.’
Cruise reprises his role as Ethan Hunt. The film also has recurring cast and characters in Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, and Rebecca Ferguson as Ila Faust.
UK RELEASE: July 14
INDIANA JONES AND THE DESTINY’S DIAL – 2 hours 33 minutes
Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to recover a legendary clock face that could change the course of history
Harrison Ford’s very last appearance as Indy, and this time he plays a grumpy and withdrawn version of the hero, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge as his sidekick.
Not everyone is convinced that her Fleabag schtick totally belongs in the Jones universe, and some critics miss director Steven Spielberg, who says the film is “expansive” and “uneven.”
However, Ford’s charisma and fun of the franchise will keep fans happy.
UK RELEASE: JUNE 28
FAST X – 2 hours 21 minutes
Fast X is a sequel to F9, which was released in 2021, and is the tenth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise. The concluding chapter would have been split into two movies
If Indiana divided the critics, Fast X united them – but not in a good way. One commented that the movie “feels like a head wound.”
However, this latest installment in the Fast and Furious franchise, starring Jason Momoa, a villain dressed “like a cross between Prince and the Tiger King,” makes up for what its length makes up for in a cohesive story.
UK RELEASE: MAY 19
The EQUALIZER 3 – 2 hours 8 minutes
Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall, played by Denzel Washington, has decided to live in southern Italy. But he soon discovers that his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses
Denzel Washington returns as vigilante Robert McCall, a former US Marine in this final installment of The Equalizer franchise – itself a reinvention of the classic 1980s TV series.
It took Washington five years to find the space in its schedule, but Parts 1 and 2 were major blockbusters.
UK RELEASE: 1 SEPT
TRANSFORMERS RISE OF THE BEASTS – 2 hours seven minutes
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts takes audiences back to the 1990s. It is the planned seventh film in the live-action series
The seventh Transformers movie, this is a prequel to Bumblebee and involves a massive war between the Maximals, the Predacons, and the Terrorcons.
Once again directed by Michael Bay, the film is voiced by Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage and Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh.
UK RELEASE: JUNE 7
MAESTRO – 2 hours 5 minutes.
Bradley Cooper is unrecognizable as composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. The drama film is directed by Bradley Cooper and produced by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Todd Phillips
Bradley Cooper plays the conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein and Carey Mulligan his wife Felicia. Netflix is reportedly trying to cut it down a bit, and there has been controversy over Cooper’s prosthetic nose, with some accusations of “Jewish face.”
However, reports from early screenings suggest it’s a tour de force from Cooper and could earn him an Oscar nod as a result.
RELEASE DATE NOT CONFIRMED